From the Editor : May 2022

May is here! We’re now in the heart of spring with its warm and super pleasant weather, some call it the “family month,” as it boasts of numerous family-related commemorative days. Children’s Day (어린이 날) is on May 5, and Parents’ Day (어버이 날) is on May 8. There’s Teachers’ Day (스승이 날) on the May 15, Coming of Age Day (성년의 날) on the 16th for everyone turning 19 in 2022, and Husband and Wife’s Day is on the 21st. Another day of celebration on May 8 this year is Buddha’s Birthday (석가탄신일) with its countless, brightly colored lanterns gracing Korea’s innumerable temples and surrounding areas.

But when I hear or read “May,” in English or Korean (오월), the first thing that registers for me, and for many other people in the Gwangju area, is not any of the above joyous days for celebration but instead May 18 – 5.18, 오일팔 – that day in 1980 marking the “Gwangju Incident,” the “Gwangju Uprising,” the “May 18 Democratization Movement.” Call it what you may, but under any name, it was a ten-day period of bullets, bloodshed, and death – the death of hundreds of Gwangju citizens enraged by the brutal treatment received at the hands of a savagely cruel military force sent in to quell the protests.

May 18 is not a day for celebration in Gwangju, but it is a day for remembrance – remembrance of those who died; remembrance of those maimed for life, both physically and psychologically; and remembering those who spent many years of their lives striving to uncover the truth of May 18.

With this in mind, the Gwangju News this month devotes its cover story to an interview with Song Seon-tae, head of the May 18 Truth Commission, who discusses the Uprising and the progress being made in revealing the facts of the massacre – facts that have for so long been buried, distorted, and falsified.

Soon to be unveiled at the center of the May 18 protests is the Fountain of Light, the redesigned fountain in front of the old Provincial Office that will convey the spirit of May 18 through a spectacular display of media art. Read our feature on this landmark project. This month’s Lost in Honam piece, “Unhealed Light,” takes its inspiration from some earlier May 18 photography. You won’t want to miss it either. These are just the tip of the iceberg – there is much more in this issue that you won’t want to miss!

And as always, though social-distancing restrictions may have been lifted, stay Covid smart, stay Covid safe, be Covid protected, and enjoy the Gwangju News.

David E. Shaffer
Editor-in-Chief
Gwangju News